Chinese Chicken Salad Remix

Chinese Chicken Salad

(Low Fat)

Determined to make our meals as healthy as possible, I did a little Chinese Chicken Salad remix!  It is super easy and quick to make.  I baked the chicken breast while I was making the rest of the salad. Loved it!!  Eat your veggies, they are great for you and you'll feel great while still enjoying full flavor!  Biggest tip I have found to eating healthy is using my kitchen scale.  I love mine!!

Chinese Chicken Salad Remix 

The Chef In My Head

Less than 400 calories per serving

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 T. low-sodium soy sauce, divided

2 tsp toasted sesame oil, divided

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded (about 6 cups)

1/4 head red cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)

3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, greens included (about 1/2 cup)

1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, chopped

1 11-oz can Mandarin oranges in water, drained

1/2 apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1 packet Stevia sugar substitute

1-1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce

1/4 C sliced almonds, toasted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine 1 tsp soy sauce and 1/2 tsp sesame oil and brush onto chicken breasts. Bake until juices run clear, about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, cool completely, and cut into 1/4-inch slices.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine Napa cabbage, red cabbage, scallions, water chestnuts, and Mandarin oranges.  In a separate bowl (or your Vitamix), whisk together remaining 3 T. soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, remaining 1 tsp oil, Stevia and Sriracha sauce.  

Add cooled chicken to bowl.  Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.  Divide among bowls and top each serving with 2 tsp toasted almonds.

Enjoy!

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Sweet & Spicy Roasted Almonds

Sweet & Spicy Almonds



We are starting to plan ahead for recipes to take to the beach for Spring Break this year so this was a perfect one to try from Giada's run on I Heart Cooking clubs "California Dreamin".

Both of these recipes were a snap to prepare.  The almonds come out spicy with just a touch of sweet.  Perfect football snack for now!  The Chili-Infused oil will have lots of uses.  You can use it as a dipping oil with your favorite crusty loaf or use it to spice up any stir-fry.

Chili-Infused Oil

Chili-Infused Oil, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Italian

The Chef In My Head

Makes 1/2 Cup

1/2 C. olive oil

2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper flakes

In a small, heavy saucepan, heat the oil and crushed red pepper flakes over a low flame, stirring occasionally, until a thermometer registers 180 degrees F, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.  Transfer the oil and pepper flakes to a 40ounce bottle or other small container and seal the lid.  Refrigerate up to 1 month.

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Almonds

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Almonds, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian

The Chef In My Head

Makes 2 Cups

2 T Chili-Infused Oil (above)

1 T Sugar

1 tsp Grey Sea Salt

2 C Almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir the oil, sugar, and sea salt to blend.  Add the almonds, and toss to coat.  Arrange the almond mixture on a large, heavy baking sheet, spacing the almonds evenly.  Bake, stirring occasionally until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

The nuts can be made two days ahead, store airtight at room temperature(if they last that long).

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Biscotti, Biscotti, Biscotti!

I know my husband thinks I have nothing better to do than shop on line, well that's only sort of true.  Seriously, when I find a great deal, and I love it, I mean what would you do?  Exactly! That's what I thought! 

So I found this and sent him an email, one of those "your wife found this and loves it".  When he arrived home from work later that evening I got the response I was dreading just a bit.  "Why do you send me those things, you know our goals...."  Etc, etc, etc.  Well, I haven't spent my life in sales for nothing, so of course I proceed to tell him the benefits of us owning this pretty little pasrty box...I would fill it full of homemade biscotti of his favorite flavors, just for him to enjoy with his morning coffee.  They would be there for him when he arrives home from a hard day's work, for a light snack while waiting to be served some fabulous creation for dinner.  I then went on to explain the quality of all the items I have ever purchased from Napa Style... blah, blah blah.  Then, I hit him where I knew he would see the logic and good sense of this purchase, IT'S ON SALE!! 

He then proceeds to tell me that IF he was a great guy, he would have pulled out his credit card and it would be shipped to our door in a few days. Was I serious about the fresh baked biscotti and I better not back out on my promise to fill it because, in fact, it was already on it's way.  Angel of my heart.

So that's what I did.  I baked 12 dozen fresh baked biscotti of three different flavors!

They are so easy and fun to make!

First, this wonderful Granola Biscotti, with freshly made granola that is then baked into the biscotti.  The popular breakfast snack imparts a wholesome oat crunch to these cookies.

Granola Biscotti

Granola Biscotti

1 C ganola (recipe follows)

2/3 C blanched sliced almonds

1/2 C butter

2/3 C light brown sugar, packed

1/3 C honey

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Prepare the granola and set aside.

To prepare biscotti dough, place nuts in a shallow pan and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool.  In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in honey, eggs and vanilla.  In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture, mixing until blended.

Mix in granola and nuts.  Divide dough in half.  On a greased and floured baking sheet pat out into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long, spacing at least 2 inches apart.  Bake in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Transfer from the baking sheet to a rack.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Place on a cutting board.  With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angel about 3/8 inch thick.  Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes longer, turning them over once, to dry slightly.  Let cool on a rack.  Store in a tightly covered container.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Granola

1-1/2 T olive oil or vegetable oil

1-1/2 T honey

1-1/2 T brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 C regular oatmeal

To prepare Granola, place in a small saucepan the oil, honey, sugar and vanilla.  Heat stirring, just until combined.  Spread oatmeal in a shallow baking pan.  Pour the honey mixture over the oatmeal and mix until well coated.  Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until oatmeal is slightly crisp and lightly browned, stirring twice.  Let cool.

Makes 1 cup.

Note:  I found this dough to be very loose, you may want to add a couple more tablespoons of flour to the dough.  I also baked mine on two separate baking sheets, they spread quite a bit.  The flavor is great!

Praline Biscotti

Almond candy crystals fleck these cookies with their sublime, shattering sweetness.

Praline Biscotti

Praline:

1/3 C sugar

1/3 C slivered blanched almonds

Biscotti dough:

2/3 C whole almonds

1/3 C butter

2/3 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C plus 2 T all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

To prepare Praline, place sugar in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, shaking pan until sugar melts and caramelizes.  Add almonds and shake to coat nuts, then immediately pour mixture out of the pan onto a buttered sheet of foil.  Let cool.  Break candy into pieces and pulverize in a blender or processor into a fine powder.

To prepare biscotti dough, place nuts in a shallow pan and bake in a  preheated 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool.  In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture, mixing until blended.  Stir in praline.  Cut almonds into halves or thirds and fold in.  Divide dough in half.  On a greased and floured baking sheet pat out into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.  Bake in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Transfer from baking sheet to a rack.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Place on a cutting board.  With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle about 1/2 inch thick.  Lay the slices cut sided down on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes, turning them over once, to dry slightly.  Let cool on a rack.  Store in a tightly covered container.

Makes about 3-1/2 to 4 dozen.

Our favorite!

Candied Orange Pecan Biscotti

Bittersweet chunks of candied orange peel and toasted pecans lend a delicious dimension to these biscotti.

Candied Orange Pecan Biscotti

1 C Candied Orange Peel (recipe follows)

3/4 C pecans

1/2 C butter

3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

2 T orange liqueur, or orange juice concentrate, thawed

Zest of 1 orange, minced finely

2 C plus 2 T all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Candied Orange Peel

3 oranges (use peel only)

1/2 C water

1/2 C sugar

To prepare Candied Orange Peel, peel oranges, scoring the peel into 5 or 6 sections to make them equal in size.  Place the peel in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer 10 minutes.  Drain and let cool.  With a grapefruit knife, lift off most of the white pith.  In a saucepan combine the water and sugar.  Bring to a boil and cook until dissolved.  Add peel and let simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Lift peel onto waxed paper to cool.  Makes about 1 cup candied peel.

Next I have planned Espresso Biscotti and Pistachio & Golden Raisin Biscotti

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Sherry Onion Almond Soup, Grilled Halibut with Sauce Vierge ~ Guest Post

Jess and I are blessed with great friends who are amazing cooks, seriously amazing cooks!  What follows is a beautiful meal we shared at Larry and Margo Shallcross's home.  In addition to fantastic food and a lovely table, we always have a great time!  Lively and interesting conversations and finally getting a chance to catch up, were all on the menu.  We promise each time we get together, we won't wait so long to do it again.  This particular evening, they orchestrated an entire meal that was both delicious and healthy!  You would love these people, Larry is an accomplished attorney whose practice includes business, family and equine law. 

Nicole (their daughter), Larry and Margo

Speaking of equine, look at this beautiful picture of Margo!  Margo travels all across the world to judge horse shows.  She is such a beautiful woman, a fantastic friend, and just a little nuts (our favorite part), we just don't get to see enough of her.

Margo, a horse show judge, pictured showing "The Black Stallion,"

The recipes that follow were given to me by Margo to share with you.  It was all incredible with my favorite probably being the soup which can be served hot or chilled.  Mmmmmmm, delicious and pretty too!  You know I am a huge fan of sauces, the Vierge Sauce for the halibut was perfect!

We started the evening with a Soup of Sherry Onion and Almond

Serves 6 small portions


3 tbsp. butter
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
pinch of saffron strands (about 12)
2 oz. of blanched almonds, toasted and finely ground
3 cups of good chicken stock
3 tbsp of dry sherry (I served extra on the table to add as desired)
salt and ground pepper
2 tbsp sliced almonds, toasted and chopped fresh parsley to garnish


Melt the butter over low heat and add the onions and garlic, cover and gently cook for 15 to 20 minutes until soft and golden.


Add Saffron, cook 3-4 minutes then add the ground almonds and cook additional 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the stock and sherry, season. Bring to boil, lower and simmer for 10 minutes.


Process in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to a clean pan and reheat slowly, stirring as needed, do not allow to boil. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.


Can be served chilled or heated. Garnish with almonds and parsley.

Grilled Halibut with Sauce Vierge was, main course for my diet conscience friends:

Serves 6


9 tbsp olive oil
2/3 tsp of each: fennel seeds and celery seeds
1 tsp of mixed peppercorns
1-1/4 tsp of each: fresh thyme leaves, rosemary leaves and oregano (all chopped)
6 thick cut halibut (about 2-1/4 lbs)
coarse sea salt
lemon wedges
The Sauce:

3 tomatoes
9 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and juice of 1-1/2 lemons
2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1-1/2 tsp of small capers
2 drained canned anchovy fillets, chopped
1-1/2 tsp of each: chopped fresh chives and fresh chervil


Directions for the Sauce:


Plunge tomatoes into boiling water until skins split, immediately refresh in cold water-peel the skins, remove the seeds and finely dice the flesh. Set aside.

Meanwhile, Heat grill and brush with olive oil.


Mix fennel and celery seeds with peppercorns in a mortar than stir in sea salt to taste. Place mixture in large flat dish, add the herbs and the remaining olive oil. Add the halibut pieces and coat, place on preheated grill with dark skin up. Cook about 7 minutes, turning once until skin is brown and fish is cooked through.


Combine sauce ingredients, except the herbs, in a pan and heat gently until warm but not hot. Gradually add the fresh herbs.


Spoon sauce over the halibut to serve.


I have also cooked the halibut on the stove and broiled for a minute if my grill is not available.


Salad:


Fresh asparagus, bacon with mixed leaf lettuce.
Trimmed and steamed 1-1/2 lbs of medium asparagus spears
Fried 6 oz. of maple cured, thick bacon. After cooling I cut into small pieces
Cleaned and a package of mixed leaf lettuce.


The dressing was a store bought: French Buffalo Cheese. Any light an slightly tangy dressing or a light blue cheese is works well.

My apologizes to Margo and Larry, my photos did not come out of this tasty dessert.  You will just have to make it again for me :-)

Dessert:


Mango and Lime Fool


2--14 oz. cans of sliced mango's (Do NOT use frozen)
Grated rind of 2 limes
Juice of 1 lime
1-1/3 cup low fat cre'me fraiche
12 tbsp of low fat Greek yogurt
Fresh mango slices to decorate (Optional)


Drain the canned mango slices and place in a food processor or blender. Add the grated lime rind and lime juice. Process until it forms a smooth puree.


Pour the cre'me fraiche and Greek yogurt into a bowl and whisk until it is thick then quickly add the mango puree. Pour into 6 cups and chill for 1-2 hours. Just before serving decorate with fresh mango slices.


I also found some mango filled wafer cookies at the store and they were delicious with this dessert (not part of the diet plan).


My friends were kind in letting me try all this Low-Carbohydrate Food on them.
Margo Shallcross

Margo Dear, you and Larry can try anything on us anytime you want to!!!

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Greek Stuffed Peppers with Orzo, Roasted Caponata and Baklava "Purses"

Since I admit to being the junkie I am, I sat and watched the Food Network most of the day(in the background, while I was working, Jess).  Just looking for inspiration, while I wound up watching my "kitchen porn" buddy Giada.  Giada, I mean this in the most complimentary way of course, but seriously, the cleavage Honey.  Anyway, I found her stuffed peppers and Caponata and the baklava.  I do not claim to be better than her by any means (but my cleavage is not bad for 45), I simply am not capable of following a recipe, and I know what I and my family like.  One of my other downfalls is I ALWAYS cook too much.  I will hightlight my changes so you can see what I've done and notes about changes I made.  So my sweet neighbors are having dinner delivered to them tonight.  Here's what's for Dinner Tonight, Sonya! 

Greek Orzo Stuffed Peppers

1 (28 oz) can Fire Roasted Italian tomatoes, drained
2 Zucchini, grated
1/2 C Percorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly gound black pepper
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp dried oregano
4 C chicken stock (I'm not a huge fan of broth)
1 1/2 C tri-colored orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
6 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow & orange)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Break up tomatoes in a large bowl.  Add zucchini, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano.  Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes.  Orzo should only be partially cooked.  Using a fine mesh sieve, transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the rest of the ingredients.  Spray your baking dish with our buddy Pamela and transfer the warm chicken broth to the baking dish.

Slice the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and ribs.  If necessary, cut a thin clice off the bottom so peppers will sit upright.

Fill the peppers with the orzo mixture and place side by side in baking dish.  Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for  45 minutes.  Remove the foil, sprinkle the tops of the peppers with the remaining cheese and continue baking for about 15 minutes until the cheese is golden.
Enjoy, serves 6.

Roasted Caponata

1 (14 oz) can diced Fire Roasted tomatoes with juice
2 Zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds
2 Summer Squash, cut into 1-inch rounds
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 large eggplant, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into1-inch, half moons
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 Youkon Gold potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp Grey salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
4 to 6 slices sourdough bread, brushed with olive oil and toasted on grill

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pour canned tomatoes into 3 1/2 quart baking dish that has been sprayed with our buddy Pamela and spread to cover the bottom.  In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients except the bread.  Toss to coat.  Pour the vegetables over the canned tomatoes in an even layer.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake until the edges of the vegetables are golden, for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Serve alone as a side, or over toasted sourdough bread.  Served over bread, it can be a great vegetarian main course.  Enjoy, Serves 6 to 8.

Baklava "Purses"

1/2 C almonds, toasted
1/2 C walnuts, toasted
1/4 C chopped dried apricots
1/4 C plain bread crumbs
2 Tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, divided
3 Tbls honey
12 sheets phyllo dough

Special equipment: 2 mini-muffin tins + I used a small tamper (my finger doesn't fit so well in that tiny tin)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the almonds, walnuts, apricots, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt in your awesome, probably Cuisinart Food Processor (I had to use my crappy one).  Run machine until the mixture is very finely chopped.  It smells amazing! Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, add 2 Tbls of the melted butter and all of the honey, stir to combine. 

On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo (keep the rest covered so it doesn't dry out).  Brush lightly with melted butter.  Cover the first sheet with the second, repeating the process until you have used 6 of the sheets.  Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces (cut lengthwise into 3 pieces and widthwise into 4 pieces).
Gently press each piece into the mini-muffin tin cups. Press 1 Tbls of the nut mixture into each of the phyllo cups.  Gather ends and twist to make a purse.  Continue with the rest and begin with the second set for your second muffin tin.  Bake until the edges are golden for about 20 to 25 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, remove from tins and transfer to a serving plate.  Do not leave unattended or your husband will a mysterious tummy ache.  Makes 24 "purses"

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